Current Training Phase

Deload Week – Prep Week – Max Week

Deload (June 12-16)

Recovering during Deload Week does not necessarily mean taking a break. Through research and experience we have learned we can continue to train while also taking pressure off vulnerable joints like our knees, shoulders, and spine. Continuing to engage certain muscles causes the body to elicit joint recovery more effectively than just resting. (1,2,3,4,7) 

Goals for Deload Week! 

• Limiting range of motion to ease off vulnerable joints and help them recover.  
• Decrease the heavy loading but, as you may have noticed, we increased the number of reps.  
• Emphasis on stimulating muscles without causing cellular damage.
• Emphasis on pre-dynamic stretching and movement, post dynamic and static flexibility, mobility and  recovery. 
• Limit high volume running, cycling, and hiking for this week. High volume training breaks down joints  and tissue and we need them to recover. 
• Sleep.  

Prep (June 19-23)

Post Deload Week, we prep our bodies to ensure they are ready to perform at max effort, the following week. During this week we train the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) to prepare for heavy loads above 90% of our 1 rep max. The body uses GTOs to sense weight or muscle tension and if they are not trained, they create a protective response that shuts the body off. This response turns you into Gumby causing you to miss a heavy rep and increases likelihood of injury. Utilizing a week between deload and max effort also allows for the adaptation of strengthening muscles and ligaments, neurological communication, and power output to fully develop. In addition, Prep Week elicits a response called Supercompensation which means our bodies have fully adapted and developed from our 16-week training cycle.  

Max (June 26-30)

During Max Week we will be introducing new progressions for the next phase of training. We are focusing on our 1 rep maxes, but we are also focused on developing body composition, movement, bone density, and injury mitigation.  

As always, you are not obligated to participate in Max Week. We will have modifications for in season athletes, individuals progressing their lifts, and individuals who want to lift heavy but not max. There is no bonus trophy for achieving your 1 rep max, but it is helpful information, and the body does need to experience stress to get stronger. That said, form and technique must be perfect, especially when lifting heavy. A coach may stop your lift if they see your form breaking down, for your safety. If you injure yourself while maxing out, you will negatively affect your training for the next phase.  

REFERENCES: 

1-Work, H. D. The Science Behind Deload Weeks Explained. 

2-Bell, L., Nolan, D., Immonen, V., Helms, E., Dallamore, J., Wolf, M., & Androulakis Korakakis, P. (2022). “You can’t shoot another bullet until you’ve reloaded the gun”: Coaches’ perceptions, practices and experiences of deloading in strength and physique sports. Frontiers in Sports and Active living, 4. 

 3-Bosquet, L., Berryman, N., & Mujika, I. (2017). Managing the training load of overreached athletes: Insights from the detraining and tapering literature. In Sport, Recovery, and Performance (pp. 87-107). Routledge. 

4-Jacko D, Schaaf K, Masur L, Windoffer H, Aussieker T, Schiffer T, et al. Repeated and interrupted resistance exercise induces the desensitization and re- sensitization of MTOR-related signaling in human skeletal muscle fibers. Int J Mol Sci. (2022) 23:5431. doi: 10.3390/ijms23105431  

5-Chiu, L. Z., Barnes, J. L. (2003). The fitness-fatigue mannequin revisited: Implications for planning short-and long-term coaching. Power & Conditioning Journal, 25(6), 42-51.